My
husband and I have always struggled financially. There have been months of
plenty and then years of poverty. Some days we seem to do okay and we get by.
Other days it seems like we just can’t seem to make it. Most of us are in this
situation, or have been at some point in our lives. Finances seem to be the
center of every problem and every argument in our families. Over the years, the
Lord and I have talked about tithing. I have heard many pastors preach on it,
and some even demanding it from us. As I was praying this morning about the
word “obedience” that God has given me for 2014, I asked Him in what areas of
my life does He need my obedience? His response was “Financial Obedience”.
Financial
obedience is not something that I have been good at over the years. Finances
are always a subject that leads my husband and me into arguments and conflict. Whenever
we talk about finances we end up getting into an argument. He wants to know
where the money goes, and I want to know why we never seem to have enough. I
have managed the finances for our family for over ten years, and we have come a
long way. But there is always this sense that we could be doing more. We give
to our church, giving what we can when we can, but there always seems to be
this desire, this sense that we could be doing so much more. That is where the
Lord spoke to me today- in regards to financial obedience.
Many of
us know that tithing is part of being a Christian. Each Sunday we take from our
wallets what we can give to the Lord; put it in an offering plate or in a box
at the back of the church. We give without thought, and we give freely. But,
speaking from experience, there are some weeks that we just don’t have it. Some
weeks even giving five dollars will put us into the red and cause us to go
without gas in a vehicle. So what is the Lord referring to when He speaks about
being financially obedient?
“Will a
man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed
You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, even this whole
nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My
house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts. ‘If I will not open for
you such blessing that there will not be enough room to receive it.” Malachi
3:8-10
Do we
rob from God when we do not bring Him our tithes? In the Old Testament, tithing
was a part of the Law of Moses. God commanded the children of Israel to bring
Him a tenth of the first fruits of all their labors. When they did not do this,
they were essentially taking for themselves what belonged to God. But, in the
New Testament there really is no direct command from Jesus or God the Father to
tithe. It only states that we are to give cheerfully and willingly. Does this
mean then that we do not have to tithe?
God
said that the children of Israel were robbing Him. Is it possible to rob God?
The word “rob” in this context means to deceive or defraud someone. In this
case, the people were hiding from God (or so they thought) what they actually
had and only brought to Him what they wanted to give. They were so focused on
keeping enough for themselves that they hid from God what they actually had. I
have found myself doing this from time to time. I know that the Lord wants me
to give to a certain mission or a certain person, who is in need, but I look at
my bank account and make excuses for why I can’t be obedient to His asking.
To be
financially obedient means that I do not look at what I have, but that I trust
the God who gave me everything I do have. Psalm 24:1 says that the “earth is
the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.”
Everything I have is because the Lord allows me to have it. If He desires me to
give some of what I have to someone else, is it really mine to withhold? My unwillingness
to give financially, whether that is in the form of tithing, or in giving, reveals
that my heart before God is not right. David Guziak writes in his commentary on
Malachi 3:8-10 that “many people with financial problems fail to do the most
important thing first: obey and honor God with their resources. When we put God
and His kingdom first, He promises to meet our needs.” (David Guziak, Blue Letter Bible, Commentary on Malachi 3)
The Lord has shown me my
heart today in regards to my obedience in our finances. He has shown me that my
unwillingness to give out of what I have is a show of ungratefulness towards
His abundant giving. Nowhere else in the bible does God directly command His
children to test Him, to try Him in a specific matter, except here in Malachi.
He says, “try Me now in this”. God is speaking to my heart and telling me that
He wants me to try Him, to put His faithfulness to the test and see if I can
out give Him. Is it possible to out give God? If I truly desire to live a life
of obedience to my God, than financial obedience is as important as obedience
to His word, because He tells me to be a giver, He tells me to give financially
in His word. I can’t be obedient to His word if I am not giving financially to
Him.
Tithing
is more than money, it is a huge part of it, but there are so many other ways
we could tithe to the Lord God in the upcoming year, and I want to encourage
you all to go and pray and seek the Lord’s guidance in this area. Perhaps
giving 10 % of your time to volunteer at your local homeless shelter, or giving
10% of your clothing to a shelter for battered women. Whatever the Lord is
asking you to give; I pray that we would be willing to give because He has so
willingly and freely given to us. “So let each one give as he purposes in his
heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2
Corinthians 9:7) Maybe, just maybe if we do this, than the world we see our
love instead of just hearing about it, and His kingdom would be blessed by our
giving hearts. To Jesus be the glory, now and forever, amen and amen.
